Late Monday evening a man now identified as Sai Varshith Kandula allegedly drove a U-Haul truck into the northern end of Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C.
Kandula, originally from Chesterfield, Missouri, was immediately taken into custody and charged with several crimes after authorities say he crashed his truck into security barriers near the White House.
So a 19 year old of East Indian descent (Sai Varshith Kandula) decides to ram an empty U-Haul against barricades that have been unsuccessfully rammed multiple times before, with no momentum behind him, and all he took into a battle with the Secret Service was a Nazi flag? 🤨 pic.twitter.com/lxtkJQmFHe
— Edward Morgan Blake (@EddieMoBlake) May 23, 2023
The individual now faces charges for assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, the threat to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm on a President, Vice President, or family, destruction of federal property, as well as trespassing.
Breaking News: I have a very reliable tip that the driver of the U-haul that crashed into Lafayette Square near the White House gate is Sai Varshith Kandula. This pic is from his Missouri Driver's License. pic.twitter.com/XNLmN9l39J
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) May 23, 2023
Kandula, who is not white, was reported to have a Nazi flag in his U-Haul truck at the time of the incident. The Nazi flag was spread out and placed on the ground by officers, photos show.
The suspect who drove the U-Haul into security barriers near the White House, carrying a swastika flag, which was carefully and perfectly laid out on the ground by authorities for the perfect photo-op, has been identified.
His name is Sai Varshith Kandula. pic.twitter.com/5bt0vIzHk7
— Viva Frei (@thevivafrei) May 23, 2023
“Shortly before 10:00 p.m. Monday, Secret Service Uniformed Division officers detained the driver of a box truck after the vehicle collided with security barriers on the north side of Lafayette Square at 16th Street,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Gugliemli said in a statement.
“There were no injuries to any Secret Service or White House personnel and the cause and manner of the crash remain under investigation,” he said, adding that the incident may have been intentional.
Gugliemli said in later statement that the “preliminary investigation reveals the driver may have intentionally struck the security barriers.”
A Marquette High School spokesperson tells us 19-year-old Sai Varshith Kandula is a Jan 2022 graduate. He is accused of crashing a U-Haul into a White House barrier, threatening to harm the president. Here’s his yearbook photo.
More details: https://t.co/5oIIjgy5qO@ksdknews pic.twitter.com/LmiOGBYPWo
— Paula Vasan (she/her) (@PaulaVasan) May 23, 2023
Another law enforcement official told NBC News that the individual was making “threatening statements” about the White House and did not have any weapons or explosives.
“I don’t think there’s any place for a Nazi flag or the statements that he made,” the official said.
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